Review: Drinks by the Dram

There’s a liquor retailer in the UK called Master of Malt, and despite its name, it sells more than just whisk(e)y. In the summer of 2010, they started a program called Drinks by the Dram, wherein they’ll sell you little sample bottles of many of their products–from low-end to high. The samples are 3cl/30ml, or a little over an ounce.

The goal is to provide a try-before-you-buy program, allowing consumers to buy small drams at reasonable prices, so that they may sample unique and hard-to-find bottlings without paying possibly hundreds of dollars for something they may not like.

Someone from MoM contacted me a couple of weeks ago, and offered to send me a package of them if I was interested in covering this program. Wanting to learn more about Irish and Scotch whiskies, I agreed. So just before Christmas, I got these:

Final word: Tasty example of Lowlands style. At £34.95 (or about $58 US) for 700ml, might make a nice present for a scotch lover who’s a completest, or at the opposite end of the scale, for someone fairly new to scotch, since the Lowlands style tends to appeal to beginners.

Tyrconnell 10 Year Old Sherry Cask Finish

Single-malt Irish whiskey is a category that seems to be little-known among US consumers. Shame, if this one’s any indication.

Greenore 15 Year Old

Final word: Would recommend for bourbon drinkers branching out into single malts. Very smooth whiskey. Definitely lighter and sweeter than most single malts, so a good stepping stone to single-malt Irish and Scotch bottlings. The grain here is corn, with just a little bit of malted barley to start the fermentation process, according to the Cooley Distillery website. Aged in bourbon casks. The 15-year retails for £52.45 for 700ml, or about US$86, but Greenore also makes an 8-year that goes for about $50.

Drinks by the Dram: The Takeaway

I really enjoyed sampling through these whiskeys, so I think Masters of Malt has a good program going here. These wee bottles would make great individual stocking stuffers. A multi-bottle sampler box would be perfect for the aficionado who’s looking to try new bottlings.

I have never bought anything from Master of Malt. Both times I received packages from them, MoM sent them to me as free samples for promotional purposes. However, if you go here (http://www.masterofmalt.com/delivery/) and click Frequently Asked Questions, they address the customs issue, under the heading “Do we ship to your country?” Namely, it seems to be the case that most MoM shipments make it into the U.S. without Customs even being aware that there’s booze inside the box.

Thank you! I think I will order but am nervous I am going to lose money! But if you got your samples, Im assuming they were overlooked. Did the box clearly state it was alcohol? Sorry so many questions!